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Thursday, February 19, 2015

The boys got a much-needed injection of a positive vibe following last night's 2-0 win vs. Schalke at the Veltins Arena.

It's been a VERY LONG time since I've written about a Real Madrid game. To be honest though, it has felt just as long since I remember seeing Real Madrid play well enough to my absolute satisfaction. But what the hell, it's a long weekend here in Singapore, I missed last week's podcast, so what the heck right?

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Recovering from the Embarrassment at the Calderon.

If Depor at home in La Liga are a great side to use as a 'punching bag' (we didn't exactly punch the lights out of them last weekend), then Schalke away for the Champions League are a good 'next step' in our road to recovery from the humiliation at the Calderon.

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They aren't some beast contender to win the Champions League (ala Bayern, Barca or Chelsea), yet they still possess the tools to punish you if you make the mistake of believing that you can sleepwalk through your match against them. They are 4th in the Bundesliga and can be fairly pegged to be at a similar level to Valencia, Villarreal or Sevilla in the Champions League - all of them teams who are capable of making us suffer, especially away from home. We can also factor in the Veltins Arena and their boisterous fans as another added 'level up', together with the residual German team hoodoo (most of which has been purged by last season's Champions League campaign).

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Needless to say, despite the fact that it wasn't the 6-goal bashing that we delivered last season, considering our team's circumstances, it was nonetheless a test that we passed - or a test we passed with a pretty decent mark.

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Recovering Pepe

I'm conflicted about Nacho. When you isolate the plays involving him as he filled in for the absence of Pepe, it's hard to find fault. He's quick, alert, isn't sloppy with the ball and has his own ways for compensating for his lack of height (a pre-requisite nowadays to be a successful CB in the modern game). Having Pepe back in to pair with Varane however is a head-and shoulders level up for Real Madrid on defense.

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Chalk it up to experience, intimidation factor, or just plain quality, Pepe's presence was a welcome addition to the squad that brings confidence at the back (despite the occasional nervy moment). What's all the more important however is that somehow, Varane also plays better next to him. His presence not only levels up his specific position (taking the place of Nacho from the weekend) but also levels up Real Madrid's entire defense collectively.

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Lucas Silva's full debut (while awaiting the Recovery of Modric)

It was a good full debut for Lucas Silva. If this is the sort of performance we can expect from him, then I can say his purchase has been a very astute one.

The most notable name in last night's team sheet was that of Lucas Silva. After making his debut as a sub in last weekend's game, Carlo Ancelotti has finally decided that he was ready to make a full debut last night. And let's all admit it: even if it's 'just Schalke', getting your full debut in a Champions League last 16 tie against a German Team away from home is a pretty daunting proposition.

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Let's all admit it: even though we kept winning towards late last year, the team has never been the same since the loss of Luka Modric. Modric brings defensive workrate and bite to the team TOGETHER with the ability to shuttle the ball forward vertically through his passing and mobility. A midfield of Kroos, James and Isco (playing for Modric) gives you some of the former, but sorely lacking in the latter. When we are in possession, Isco in particular, gives us the incisiveness with his dazzling ability to dribble through multiple opponents, but he is no full-fledged central midfielder who can ping passes around to add momentum to Kroos' ball distribution. In effect, he adds something different from Modric - and while that may be a pretty good addition to the team's play, it's not as critical to the turning the team into 'beast mode' as Modric's style of play does. Without the ball, despite his much-improved workrate and willingness to track back and tackle, Isco is not quite as comfortable being in defensive mode as Modric either.

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Things have thus turned to shit for Real Madrid when we lost James. We are now without 2/3 of our first-choice midfield. And so I will say this: it doesn't matter if you're Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atleti, Bayern or Chelsea - if you lose 2 of your first choice central midfielders, you're team is going to be in for a massive drop in level of play with those losses. Thus, understandably, Ancelotti has to re-boot the entire midfield and has struggled to do so the last few months. He has essentially been scraping the bottom of the barrel: playing an Isco-Kroos-Illaramendi midfield, because they're the only ones left (even experimenting with Bale during the disastrous derby)!

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If you've been watching Real Madrid play with the Isco-Kroos-Illaramendi midfield, then you wouldn't need to be a genius to see that Illaramendi isn't the man to play in Modric's place. It's notw becoming very very clear to me that he is a VERY poor man's Xabi Alonso. Also without the mobility, has a bit of the passing range, but without the ability to read the game as well as Alonso, and thus unable to make those one-touch long balls to advanced positions and dictate the tempo of play. In playing the Modric role, he has in my opinion, been a disaster. Essentially, he has been what basketball fans call a 'ball stopper': someone who kills his team's buildup momentum once he receives the ball. On attack, the 2 Central midfield roles on either side of Kroos require players to have the mobility to push the ball forward, the technical ability to keep possession and the momentum of the play to reach the front 3. Illaramendi mostly just receives the ball, and passes it backwards... or WORST of all: taps the ball with his foot 3-5 times, twists and turns as he's chased around by an opponent and then passes it backwards (or loses it) - totally sucking the momentum out of Madrid's buildup. In essence, Illara, despite his technical passing ability, lacks what Barca youth scouts like to call 'speed of thought'.

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In his full debut last night, Lucas Silva is not quite Modric who accelerates Madrid's momentum in possession, but Brazilian at least keeps the momentum going without killing it, pushing the ball forward, and can play the one touch pass when the circumstance dictates it. He was in essence, what I imagined Khedira would be like in a 4-3-3 without the injuries or the vacation-mode mentality. Without the ball, he displayed the physicality to throw himself about, winning and contesting balls but most importantly, offering the sort of mobility and muscle Madrid are sorely needing at the center of the park. If this is the sort of performance we can expect from Silva, at 14m for a 22-year old, to play the squad role of Illaramendi and Khedira, I'd say his acquisition has been an astute one for Real Madrid.

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Recovering Cristiano Ronaldo

The Cristiano Ronaldo we all want to see: Scoring and creating decisive goals for Real Madrid.

It was not the sort of performance that earned him the Balon D' Or for the last 2 years, but Cristiano Ronaldo's 1-goal, 1-assist performance was a massive step towards making us remember him more for decisive moments on a football pitch in a Real Madrid uniform rather than ones in a Karaoke club in a silly hat.

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That his goal broke the deadlock and it was a vintage Ronaldo 'Beast' Mode goal (leaping like a Salmon) beyond multiple defenders to give Real Madrid the decisive lead was very critical. It wasn't one of those shit goals where we were up 3-0 (none of which was a CR goal) and someone wins a penalty for Ronaldo to score. The match had been a cagey affair up to that point until his moment of brilliance. Real Madrid needed that moment from Cristiano just as much as he needed it for himself. He would test Schalke's impressive goalkeeper just minutes later in what must have been his best Direct Free Kick attempt all season (despite having no goal to show for it).

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It was a performance that merited the seriousness of Schalke's marking to open space for Marcelo to double the lead (with a beautiful goal) and nearly put the tie to bed.

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Cristiano still lacks the explosiveness to blast past opponents in the manner that he did so casually no too long ago (now only Bale has that ability in the team, who by the way had another pretty good game last night). He tried more than a few times to knock the ball past an opponent and try to run past his marker to reach it - without success. Is it a matter of recovery (from a knock / injury)? or a matter of the jets having left him permanently due to father time? If the latter is the case, then Ancelotti must observe and accept it and so must Cristiano. This still does not worry me: Cristiano after all has another 5 years at least in his career as the world's best striker - and Ancelotti will need to re-shape the team once we all get to that point.

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For the mean time however, it's great to see him back amongst the goals.

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Recovering

A telling moment for me from last night was Marcelo's touching hug with Carlo Ancelotti... and how the team collectively turned this very personal moment between the 2, into a group hug - a collective moment for the group. It speaks of what all of this means to the team. It speaks of the team's awareness of their collective burden and responsibility to recover from the doldrums suffered in the past several weeks - and the recognition of relief and feeling a sense of accomplishment and understanding that a significant step had been taken last night.

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Perhaps it was a reminder that the process of recovery cannot and probably should not be based on the simplistic notion just of blasting some poor team trying not to relegated by 6-7 goals - but that it is a gradual process. A process of healing from the mental scars and wounds suffered, a process of internalizing the shortcomings of the immediate past and learning from them, and a process of recovering the injured. Not just the physically injured and fatigued of course, but also those who have much recovery to do in terms of their intensity, focus and awareness.

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Make no mistake about it, the process isn't complete yet. Far from it. But last night might just have been a pretty significant step forward. And for now, that much is enough.
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p.s. A Happy Lunar New Year to all. Here's to a healthy and prosperous year of the goat!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Kaushik, Ryan and I talked about Real Madrid's violent act of butchery at the Riazor over the weekend. Rahul missed out because he had to attend a wedding. He would later on say that had he known we were going to score 8, that he would have skipped the wedding. :)
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The podcast can also be downloaded here:

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

AS called it 'European Therapy', I on the other hand, think that the work which needs to be done ought to be something more along the lines of surgery.

It’s been 5
hours and I still can’t make up my mind: Did Real Madrid’s 5-1 win over Basel
last night set a roadmap to recovery? Or was it a smoke and mirrors magic trick
to deceive us into thinking that Real Madrid are not in crisis?

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Either way,
it’s hard to imagine that Real Madrid raised La Decima only 7 (official matches
ago). That beautifully fateful night in Lisbon seemed like it was a long time
ago in light of the ‘crisis’ the club seems to be in at the moment (3 points
from 3 La Liga games).

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In any case,
I will leave it to others to decide / judge on whether Real Madrid are in
crisis. What is clear to me however is that this season seems to be following
the same pattern as last season: that the Real Madrid starts by beating ‘easier’
opponents (Cordoba, Basel, a Rakitic-less Sevilla) out of the sheer quality but
suffers against tough, clever opponents who are unafraid to stand up to us.
Last season, it was only in October, with the return of Xabi Alonso, where the
team’s shape and style of play finally began to make sense and correspondingly
gave us, the fans reason to believe that the team was going in the right
direction.

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This season
looks to be following the same pattern: a rough start in a struggle to figure
out a tactical puzzle to fit the updated personnel pieces into a coherent style
of play. Yes, yes, yes, it is outrageous to use this as a description to a
Champions League-winning side – but it is what it is.

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Fundamentally,
my assessment of the team is that it’s got a broken spine. Because while the
team is world class along the flanks: Marcelo/Coentrao
+ Carvajal at fullback, plus the glowing performance of Nacho at Right Back
last night, together with Ronaldo and Bale at the wings (possibly with James as
a backup in those wing positions, together with the much-anticipated return of
Jese), right through the middle, the team is a tactical mess. From goalkeeper,
to defense, to midfield, to attack, Carlo Ancelotti has much work to do.

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The ‘Back 3’ - Beat the Sacred Cows

Iker
Casillas was the target of very audible boos and whistles all throughout last
night’s game – an aftermath of the somewhat unfair blame placed on him from
Tiago’s opening goal over the weekend. In my opinion, Iker was NOT at fault for
any of Atletico’s goals. Both goals were conceded from shoddy defending. It is
difficult however, to miss the fact that his confidence is at an all-time low.
And for a goalkeeper whose assets are solely dependent on his confidence, this
is fatal. His teammates know it too. At the Anoeta, Pepe and Ramos both chose
to blitz the opposing wide player rather than hold their position in the middle
to head / clear away the cross. The only logical explanation for this
irrational decision of theirs is that they were too scared to deal with the
incoming cross and thus instead chose to attempt to stop it from coming in the
first place. If we were not bleeding points, then I would have no problem with
this heroic attempt to restore Iker’s confidence. Having dropped six achievable
points in the league though, I do think it’s time to let Keylor Navas have a
try.

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Iker isn’t
the only ‘Sacred Cow’ that needs to be whipped however. Pepe and Ramos also
need to be jolted awake. The goals conceded last night, in the derby, and in
the Supercopa were all classic examples of lapses in concentration from one or
both Pepe and Ramos. We have the world’s best young Centerback on the bench –
let him have a chance to show these complacent, sleepwalking fogies that their
place in the starting XI isn’t guaranteed and that everyone needs to buck up.

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The Midfield – Trust Issues

I am most
sympathetic to Ancelotti over what has happened to the midfield. Just as he
thought he had the world’s best midfield (Kroos-Alonso-Modric), the rug gets
pulled from beneath him (Alonso’s departure), leaving a gaping hole right through
the epicenter of his team. No longer with the option of introducing a midfield
utility man into the midfield (Khedira’s injury), Ancelotti is left with a
question: Who does he trust more? Illaramendi? Or Kroos?

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I honestly
find it a bit lazy when people simplistically believe that sending Illaramendi
in to play the Alonso role is the solution to the midfield problem. While it is
true that the Basque is more comfortable being the deepest in a midfield 3 and
thus becomes the CBs last line of protection, Illara has yet to show us that he
can be the team’s brain. Without the ability to dictate the tempo of the match,
make passes that open up space for attacking players, or make those ‘armor-piercing’
long range passes, Real Madrid’s possession can easily become sterile if he
fails to measure up.

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Toni Kroos
possesses this ability. What he lacks is Xabi’s defensive positional sense and
willingness to get his hands dirty with the requisite ball-winning responsibility
that the ‘central pivot’ role demands. There are those who say that Kroos is
too slow for the role, but since when was Xabi Alonso Usain Bolt?

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With the
transfer window closed and Champions League under way, it is realistic to
assume that bringing a ‘physical beast’ type of midfielder (e.g. Pogba, Vidal)
even in January is a no-go. That will need to be a question for the next summer
transfer window. Ancelotti’s only option now is to see who wins the race between
Kroos and Illaramendi (who was given a run out last night) to play the Alonso
role and successfully climb through the steep learning curve it requires. If
Carletto is successful, we’ll have and answer by October (just like last
season, where the answer was Alonso’s recovery). In the meantime, we’ll need to
hope for more naïve opponents like Basel, who would be idiotic enough to give
James, Modric and Kroos room to loop balls into space for Bale and Ronaldo to
kill them with.

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The Striker Conundrum

The other
end of Madrid’s spine is the team’s central striker. We’ve talked endlessly
about how Benzema is the striker best suited to play with Ronaldo and Bale
because of his unselfishness and the fact that he embraces his role as a ‘frontline
facilitator.’ Having said all that however, 2 goals in 18 games (prior to last
night). The BBC is NOT a one-way street. Benzema does not exist SOLELY to serve
Ronaldo and Bale. Benzema himself ought to be capable of scoring on the
multitude of chances (many of them on a silver platter) served up by Ronaldo
and Bale to him. Getting on the scoresheet last night give him some momentary
relief, hopefully for him, just enough for him to snap back into gear.

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Chicharito
for me is not the answer. He is, in my opinion, a poor man’s Pippo Inzaghi. He
can’t dribble through his opponents, can’t put in a defensive shift, can’t hold
the ball up or be a target for an aerial ball. He is ‘only a goalscorer’ –
which means that except for the times he scores, your team is effectively only
playing with 10 men. He is thus perfectly suited to being a late game sub when
you’re in need of a late goal. Chicharito is thus, to me, not someone who can
be viewed as competition for Benzema.

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Real Madrid
does however have a player, who likes to play as part of a front 3, can make
the killer pass and is capable of scoring fantastic goals. He was in fact, the
World Cup’s golden boot winner: step forward, 80-million man, and 2014 People
Magazine Sexiest man in the world James Rodriguez (who opened his account with
a poacher’s goal last night). I wish to be clear however that I’m not asking
for Benzema to go to the bench – I would however, like to see Ancelotti give a
Ronaldo-James-Bale front line a shot and in doing so, also allow Isco an
opportunity to play as part of the midfield 3, where he has shown lots of
improvement.

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Not the time to push the panic button

All is not lost, there is still enough quality in this team for nights like last night. Ancelotti just needs to do more work to make the pieces fit together.

It’s early
days and the time has not yet come to push the panic button. It can in fact be
argued that had we won or drawn the derby Madrileno last weekend, things wouldn’t
‘feel’ so bad right now. Last night’s win might have been the equivalent to
seeing the silhouette of the blueprint for the team to find itself once again.
Either way, there is work to be done, and in Ancelotti’s case, some surgery to
be performed.

Friday, August 29, 2014

So it’s
finally official: Angel Di Maria will join Manchester United. One summer after
seeing a player I loved watching (Ozil) depart, we see yet another. Call it the
way the world works, but it still hurts nonetheless. It’s all great business of
course: it also seems like the stalwarts of the Mourinho era at Real Madrid are
all moving onto the Premier League – all for club record transfer fees too. As
a result, the profits for Real Madrid are quite considerable. Mesut Ozil and
Angel Di Maria arrived at Real Madrid at a combined 40m Euros (15m for Ozil,
25m for Di Maria) and depart for 128m Euros (56m Euros for Ozil and 75m Euros
for Di Maria). When factored in with the Higuain sale (purchased for 12m Euros,
sold for 40m), you’re talking about spending 52m on the 3 players, and earning 171m on their sale = that’s a
profit of 119m Euros!

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And still
people are curious as to how Real Madrid are able to afford to pay for Gareth
Bale (100m Euros) and James Rodriguez (80m)?

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It REALLY hurts seeing one of the heroes of La Decima leave us

The Business of Star Players

Yes, yes,
yes – Florentino is an astute businessman. How else can you steadily bring in a
stream of star and superstar players in your team at unapologetically
astronomical amounts? Those of us who are die-hard Real Madrid fans know the
answer: by keeping a revolving door. As new star players emerge to capture the
hearts and minds of fans the world over, many of them are brought to Real
Madrid to be part of its galaxy of stars – and just as these new stars come,
the ones from the previous generation are quietly ushered out the door. Ok,
maybe not quietly. After all, who leaves for 75m and does so quietly? You do
however, get the picture: the departure of past stars are used to bankroll the
acquisition of new ones. As a result, the club’s roster of stars is perpetually
kept ‘fresh’.

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Yes, yes,
yes – Florentino is an astute businessman. And he knows / thinks he works in
show business.

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The
acquisitions and sales of Ozil, Higuain and Di Maria also mark a shift in the
Real Madrid Star Player Business Model. Whereas the likes of Figo, Zidane,
Brazilian Ronaldo, Beckham, Owen, etc. were brought to Madrid as they hit their
peaks in their late 20s, Ozil, Higuain and Di Maria joined us in their early
20s, literally as exciting starlets on the cusp of breaking out to become stars
(Ozil starred in a WC, Higuain in a River-Boca derby while Di Maria in the
Olympics). All were sold at the cusp of hitting their peak, as they hit the
latter half of their 20s – to earn maximum returns for their departures. Let’s
all remember that Isco, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez are all yet to hit
their peaks too.

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Certain
members of Madridisimo might not agree with the notion of Ozil, Higuain and Di
Maria as a star. To them I say: have a look at how the fans of Arsenal, Napoli
and now, Manchester United are embracing them. At Manchester United, El Fideo
will also inherit Cristiano Ronaldo’s #7 jersey – the same one worn by Eric
Cantona. He will also be earning wages that befit a star player: which is EXACTLY
what he is.

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If you’re in
doubt as to whether Angel Di Maria befits the status of a star, then just think
about it this way: If he played for Manchester United and practically carried
his club to win the Champions League and is also the key player for his
country’s appearance in the final of the World Cup – then Real Madrid would
surely have been interested in, and be willing to spend 75m Euros on him. I can
only come to one conclusion: the only reason Angel Di Maria is not going to be
a Real Madrid player this season is that he was already a Real Madrid last
season.

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What Manchester United are Getting

I first saw
Angel Di Maria playing for Argentina in the Olympics and he bewildered me. It
was thus not a surprise when some years later, I heard / read that Jose
Mourinho illicited an ‘Are you sure!?!?!?’ reaction from Florentino Perez, when
he turned Perez’s offer down to acquire David Silva and Jesus Navas (both
Manchester City players now), and instead preferred the far-lesser known Di
Maria.

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Under
Mourinho, Di Maria became the team’s counterbalance to Cristiano Ronaldo: the
more defensively hard-working and responsible wide man who looked more to pass
and create chances for his teammates rather than score himself. At his best in
that position, his dribbling, passing, crossing and incisiveness on the wing
will also be balanced by the sort of effort and discipline that prompted Jose
Mourinho to instruct the Bernabeu to applaud Di Maria. Louis Van Gaal was not
only in search of a wide man who can create from the flanks, but one who can
accept defensive responsibility. I will thus not be surprised to see Di Maria
on the flanks in Van Gaal’s 3-5-2 at Manchester United – as an all-in-one
fullback/wingback/winger. The choice of course to use Di Maria as an
all-purpose wideman in a 3-5-2 or as a full-fledged winger in a 4-3-3 will be
down to LVG.

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Under
Ancelotti, Di Maria very comfortably slotted to become part of a midfield 3:
tasked with the role of breaking forward to unbalance the opponent – making him
a viable alternative to play as a ‘10’ behind United’s front 2 in lieu of Mata.

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What Real Madrid are Going to Miss

Angel Di
Maria’s introduction during the first leg of the Spanish Supercup and his
absence during the entirety of the second leg was very strongly felt. Playing
with a midfield 3 of Kroos-Alonso-Modric, it was clear that Real Madrid greatly
missed the dynamism and verticality that Di Maria brought to the team while
performing his midfield role. And while Jese and James (funny thought: you can
call them Jese James) and even Isco are all capable of playing as part of the
front 3 of Ancelotti’s 4-3-3, the latter 2 are not at their best in those
positions in the way that Di Maria would comfortably fit in.

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The truth is
that Angel Di Maria never quite became *that* favourite player of mine at Real
Madrid in the manner that Ozil and Higuain became during parts of their stints
at the club. I will never be able to deny however, how important he became to
the team. I am personally very grateful to him for his contributions to the
club and take comfort in the fact that he’s won it all for Real Madrid: Spanish
Supercup, Copa Del Rey, La Liga and the Champions League. I suppose you can say
that his cycle at Real Madrid is complete.

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And finally,
it won’t be long Angel Di Maria will also be able to do accomplish another
thing I never thought possible: he’s going to make me want to watch Manchester
United for the first time in my life. Farewell Angel.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Kaushik, Bassam, Ryan and I pick up the pieces from our shattered Spanish Supercup Dream: rationalizing the midfield and pondering an Angel Di Maria-less future. We also talked about some of the best and worst Real Madrid kits of the recent past. Plus, which Real Madrid player would bake the best cake?

Everytime I'm reminded of the second Capello stint at Real Madrid, I feel like slapping myself in the head for being a cheapskate and not buying that season's kit. It was also Ruud Van Gol's one super great season for us.

Inspired by Game of Thrones? or the Chinese Mafia? Would have loved this kit WITHOUT the Dragon/s.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

It was a debut goal for James. A scrappy goal, but they all count - especially in a scrappy, cagey affair.

We are now
pursuing trophy #2 of the 6 up for grabs this season. And like many things in
life, the degree of difficulty will only increase as we go from one trophy to
another. Trophy #1 (UEFA supercup was claimed with relative ease), Trophy #2,
which features 2 rounds against La Liga champs Atleti was always going to be
tough. Trophy #3, the Club World Cup, may feature weak opponents, but will be
held in December, where injuries, fatigue, and vacation mode mentality creeps
into the team. Trophy #4 will be the Copa Del Rey – and the bulk of that
competition will be on January, where the team will suffer a post-CWC/winter
break hangover. Trophy #5 of course is the La Liga title which we have not won
in 2 seasons and of course, the sweetest one of all is #6 – La UNdecima.

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But let’s go
back to trophy #2, where Real Madrid pretty much collectively laid an egg on
the pitch against Atletico at the Bernabeu last night – drawing 1-1 thanks to a
goal scored by James on a ‘scramble’ and conceding an ‘away goal’ in what must
now be a VERY familiar source: a set piece.

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Team Shape / Tactics

A well-deserved contract extension for Modric. The Real Madrid midfield will need to drastically improve on Friday though if we are to lift the Spanish Supercup.

Ancelotti lined
the team up as I dreamed up: a 4-3-3 with Kroos-Xabi-Modric lined through the
middle. We were going to control the game and eventually figure out a way to
unlock Atleti’s organized defense. Only we didn’t.

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Rather than
being able to constantly circulate the ball with their passing and movement,
Kroos, Xabi and Modric passed the ball around and remained static, unable to
force Atleti’s defenders off their positions to enable us to find openings. As
a result, the team became too dependent on our wide men (Ronado + Marcelo /
Bale + Carvajal) to force the action – making the team’s play even more
awkward. During those stages of the first half, the state of Real Madrid’s play
really did seem to call out for a ‘10’. Going as far as switching to a 4-2-3-1
might not have been necessary (something Ancelotti could have done without as
substitution as both Modric and Kroos are playing either as a pivot or a ‘10’).
After all, what was just really needed was for our midfielders to be more
active: both both Kroos and Modric to shuttle up and down the pitch almost as
twin playmakers. If done well enough, there would be no need for a specialist ’10.’

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Keeping the ‘equilibrio’
however seemed to be Ancelotti’s foremost priority. With Isco, James and Di
Maria all on the bench, he still had ‘bullets in the chamber’ if he wanted to
turn up the attacking pressure in the latter stages of the game (which was what
he did). It seemed a sound enough approach to the game: especially with James
scoring a scrappy goal in the tight affair. It wall went to waste however when
Madrid conceded in the most familiar fashion: a set piece (I actually missed
seeing it live as I ran to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee – the match was
at 5am Singapore time!).

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It was then
that Ancelotti, became more willing to take a risk by introducing Di Maria,
sacrificing Modric’s stability (he had a meh game anyway) for the Argentine’s
dynamism.

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It’s now
finally clear to us that while having a Kroos-Alonso-Modric midfield will give
us supreme control of a match, the combination can turn Madrid’s attack stale.
It will be therefore VERY important to have a stash of sparkplugs (Di Maria, James,
Isco) either on the bench or in lieu of one of the 3 pass masters (Kroos, Alonso,
Modric) in certain games.

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I hope that
this game would serve as the adequate message to Florentino that selling Di
Maria might turn out to be a massive mistake. Because while Di Maria is not a
superstar comparable to the likes of Ronaldo and Messi, he is nonetheless a
player who brings elements to Real Madrid’s game that no other player can
replicate.

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Questions for the Front 3

After seeing
him tear Sevilla apart in the UEFA Supercup, all of us were given an eerie
reminder that Cristiano Ronaldo might now be entering that dreaded phase of his
career (where father time begins to creep in, in the form of more frequent
niggles and knocks). We have the acquisition of Bale and James (who came in for
CR7 in the second half to buffer the blow, which is massively painful
nonetheless. James however was still playing on the left side, whilst Bale
remained on the right. Might the team have done better if they had switch
flanks instead? After all, playing on the left has not necessarily hindered
Bale’s goalscoring ability (he played on the left during his famous ‘Taxi for
Maicon’ game with Spurs vs. Inter). James on the other hand, was a right-sided
player with Porto before becoming a full-fledged ’10’ for club (Monaco) and
country.

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With Ronaldo
injured, and Atleti’s defense giving us migraines, Real Madrid had a slew of
lethal ball deliverers on the pitch. Alonso, Modric, Kroos, James, Bale and Di
Maria are all capable of delivering long crosses into the box – except that
Benzema is no target man. Might we have had use for a center forward capable
of being an aerial threat out there last night? You might not agree with
the idea of acquiring Tiger Falcao, but you have to admit that there were
moments last night where you wished you had someone to send those crosses to
behind Atleti’s defense.

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Quick Thoughts

I’m happy
that the decision was made to do away with the pasillo shenanigans last night.
The Supercup is a meeting between 2 champions, it’s hardly the appropriate occasion
to play a game of one-upsmanship on trying to weasel a pasillo out from the
other team. I was thus pleasantly surprised to see the touching tribute to the
great Di Stefano instead prior to kickoff.

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Did Sergio Ramos
throw a punch at Mario Mandzukic? I watched the game on a blurry stream but it
did seem to be the case. If so, then he ought to be punished for that. I’m a
Real Madrid fan, but there should be no place for cheapshots in the game. In
fact as a Real Madrid fan, we all ought to be outraged that a player who wears
the shirt behaves in that manner.

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Diego Simeone
ripped out a page from Jose Mourinho’s playbook with his post-match comments
(calling Di Maria our best player). While what he said was true, it was a clear
attempt to poke / provoke Real Madrid by making such a remark about a player
who is reportedly seriously considering his future with us. Clever move, El Cholo.

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Bracing for Round 2

All to play for in the second leg

While it’s
true that the team’s performance (as well as the result) is a source of much disappointment,
it must not be lost on us that we are playing the La Liga Champions and
Champions League Runners Up. The team’s dour play cannot solely be attributed
to bad performances by the players but should also be chalked up to the
effectiveness of Atleti’s play. 1-1 to me is a fair result. And though Atleti
currently have the ‘away goals’ advantage, it is not unfathomable for us to
score at the Calderon and even things out in that regards. I would in fact say
that the tie’s arrangement might be to our advantage: as any goal we score on
Friday (when things REALLY count), will be an away goal (much like what
happened in Munich last season).

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Round 2 is
on a Friday Night! Friday Nights are for beer, ribs, chicken wings and the
company of people you share laughs with. This Friday will be extra-special – it
will be all that plus a Madrid Derby. And the ultimate ‘bonus’? Seeing the boys
lift trophy #2 for the season.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

When the match started at 2:45am, I was still feeling as disoriented as those dudes trying to spell 'Real Madrid' during the opening ceremony. All that changed when the match started

Maybe it’s because this is the offseason after orgasmically winning La
Decima…

Maybe it’s because this is the offseason when I became a dad for a
second time…

Maybe it’s because this is the offseason where we had a very
entertaining World Cup…

Or maybe it’s just simply because life in the office has become
insanely busy these days…

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But we are a couple of weeks from the opening of the La Liga season
and somehow, I still feel de-sensitized to the supposed excitement building up
to the season opener(s) of the European football calendar.

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All of that changed last night after seeing Real Madrid pretty much
stroll right through Sevilla to win the first of 6 possible trophies to be won
this season. Sure, it was ‘only’ a 2-0 win. I predicted the scoreline correctly
during the weekend podcast too: accounting for Sevilla’s lack of creativity
going forward to the departure of Rakitic (to Barca) whilst Real Madrid I
thought, might still be rusty. I was only half right of course: Sevilla did
indeed barely threaten us (except the last few minutes), clearly missing the
incisiveness of Rakitic’s passing… our ‘only’ 2 goals however, were more due to
Beto’s great performance between Sevilla’s sticks.

.

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Ancelotti’s Goes
Counter-Intuitive AGAIN

Everyone saw Kroos, Modric and James on the teamsheet at midfield and
instantly thought: 4-2-3-1 (including me). It seemed like the logical thing to
do: you assign Modric and Kroos as pivots (where they have played before)
whilst allowing your 80m Euro #10 (James) to play in his preferred role behind
the striker.

.

Doing so however, meant curtailing Kroos and Modric’s role and forces
them to function more as ‘specialist’ pivots. Mr. Carlo ‘Equilibrio’ Ancelotti
was having none of that. He thus surprised us all by deploying his team using
the same 4-3-3 formation he used for majority of last season: with Modric in
his usual role, Kroos in the ‘Alonso role’ and James in the ‘Di Maria role’. In
essence, all 3 midfielders were both given the opportunity to conduct the team’s
passing movements AND carry the defensive responsibility equally. ‘Balance’ –
as Ancelotti has preached all of last season. I think everyone would agree that
it was an absolute success.

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Midfield Kroos Control

Given the way Kroos and Modric were playing, coupled with Cristiano starving to make an impact, Sevilla stood no chance against us. Artwork from @r4six (follow him on twitter!)

No one impressed me more out there last night than Toni Kroos. He made
everything simple for Real Madrid: keeping possession, neat touches and clear
and accurate passes. He completed 96% of his passes including 13 out of 14 long
passes. I once called him a ‘Modric lite’. I was wrong – he’s a far better
player than my feeble, lazy assessment at the time. Together with Modric (94%
passing accuracy last night), Sevilla stood no chance against us (not even those red elbow patches on Unai Emery's suit could do it). We kept
possession and were in complete control of the entire match. Kroos not only
impressed with his neat, tidy possession and his passing acumen, he also
functioned as the team’s primary hub and was the conductor of the orchestra
last night. I never expected him to slip so seamlessly into Alonso’s role.

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Real Madrid can now play with a midfield 3 of Kroos-Alonso-Modric if
it chooses to do so, it will be a 3-headed passing monster combo that cannot be
stopped in the manner Klopp once imagined (stop, Alonso and you stop Madrid).
All 3 are masters of possession, passing, and the dictating of the game’s
tempo. From one game to another, depending on the nature of the game or the
opponent, Ancelotti can opt to rest 1 or 2 of his 3 passing/possession maestros
and inject the midfield with steel (Khedira/ Illaramendi), more attack-mindedness
(James / Isco) or blood the youngsters in (Isco / Illaramendi).

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Last night, bereft of Alonso (who shook his head towards Platini and
gave him a ‘you’re a shithead’ look while collecting his winner’s medal),
Ancelotti decided to try James in the role Di Maria played last season. Occasionally,
when it would catch Ronaldo’s fancy, the 4-3-3 would become a 4-4-2, with CR7
joining Benzema to form a strike partnership upfront, turning Bale and James
into wide midfielders. The Colombian, also blessed with a sweet left foot (like
Di Maria and Isco who played that role last season) will need to learn the
virtues of one of Carlo Ancelotti’s greatest disciples: a one-time
Madridista-turned-Milanista legend: Clarence Seedorf, who learned to use his
qualities as a ‘10’ in a central midfield role to devastating effect. And like
Isco, James hasn’t ‘gotten’ the role just yet (Incidentally, I take Di Maria
not playing last night as a near-sure sign that he might leave us).

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Remember Him???

1-2 weeks before last night’s match, twitter experienced a surge in
photos showing Gareth Bale in a sleeveless training top with his biceps about
to explode during his first proper preseason with the team. He had the look of
a player ready to morph into his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Playing in his hometown with a trophy at stake, after a preseason
where he’s been the sole bright spot for his team, he really looked set to
explode last night. And in a way, he did… just more subtly. Bale demonstrated a
highly-improved, and a far more organic understanding of his teammates. His
actions on the pitch were not just relegated to the use of his explosive pace.
Last night, we saw plenty of neat touches, diagonal passes, lay-offs, lobs and
crosses that showcased the fact that he has gotten to know and has synchronized
his play with his teammates. Now all he has to do is get rid of that stupid hair band.

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But as all eyes were transfixed on the hometown boy, the world’s best
player chose to end his injury hiatus and remind us all who the true super star
was. Cristiano has gone missing since around March-April. We managed to win the
Copa Del Rey without him, fell apart in his absence for the League campaign
(where we also rested other key players), whilst nearly lost the CL final with
the skin of our teeth with our star man barely half-fit. As expected, Portugal’s
fate was tied to his strained/torn/tendinitis-stricken knee/muscle/etc. this past
World Cup. But chasing the only club title that has eluded him, and eager to
come back, Ronaldo exploded last night as if to ask us all ‘Remember Me???’

.

Yes Cristiano, we remember. ‘Cristianoooo, Cristianooo….!’ went
Cardiff City’s stadium last night over his performance, and so did my living
room. Glad to have you back champ!

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10 Thoughts for the
re-introduction of the #10

In a situation where Benzema is unavailable, how is a 4-3-3 with James as a 'False 9' (formation on the left) very different from a 4-3-1-2 / Midfield Diamond (formation on the right)? Might there be a chance for CR/Bale (who are all 20+ goals/season players) to be played as wide forwards (much like Robben in the WC)? We can even include Di Maria in the midfield rotation!

Last season, we all enjoyed watching the BBC terrorize defences. The
combination of Ronaldo and Bale’s pace and power, coupled with Benzema’s
selflessness (bravo to his contract renewal!) made our front 3 the best in the world. This was on display again
as all goals involved members of the BBC (Ronaldo’s goals last night were
assisted by Bale and Benzema respectively). My post-season reflections however,
brought a few key points to mind:

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#1: After 3
super-spectacular seasons under Mourinho (playing practically all minutes of
all games), last season, we were all reminded that CR7 is human. He CAN get
injured and miss a significant number of games (just as he did when he was
supposed ‘voodoo hexed’ by a witch doctor during his first season).

#2: Gareth Bale too can get
injured. His early years at Tottenham were mostly injury-ravaged. We should
also remember that players with the sort of pace of Bale are prone to long injury
spells (Robben, Walcott) from muscle niggles, etc.

#3: Remember Jese? He’ll be
back before year end.

#4: Particularly intrigued
by Louis Van Gaal’s Dutch team in the World Cup, I found LVG’s use of Robben (a
pacy, goal-scoring winger like CR, Bale and Jese) as one of 2 forwards to be
interesting.

#5: Ronaldo, Bale, Jese
would NOT be comfortable as a central striker, they would, I imagine, thrive as
part of a strike partnership. (in the manner Van Gaal used Robben with Van
Persie in the WC)

#6: We only have one ‘proper’
striker: Benzema (this point would of course be invalid if we ended up signing
Falcao).

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So I was thinking: if a ‘balanced’ midfield is non-negotiable for
Carletto, and if Isco and James are going to need possibly another season or 2
to be a functional part of a fully-stacked midfield department, Why not rip a
page out of Van Gaal’s playbook and use our goalscoring wingers as part of a
strike partnership, and then using our world-class #10s in their preferred
roles? Many may remember Carletto’s ‘Christmas Tree’ (4-3-2-1) in Milan, but
few perhaps might remember that he did use a 4-3-1-2 as well in Milan (Izaghi
and Shevchenko with Rui Costa as ‘10’) and the occasional diamond midfield in
Chelsea (with Drogba and Anelka up front). Applied to this Real Madrid:

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#7: James and Isco can be
played in their favoured positions while still having the midfield 3 Carletto
considers important for team balance

#8: The presence of Ronaldo
/ Bale / Jese and even Benzema in one or both forward spots will mean that there
will still be width up front as all have their tendencies to drift wide
according to the needs of the game.

#9 The system is in
essence, not very different to a 4-3-3 that deploys James / Isco as a ‘False 9’.

#10 The system can just as
easily be converted on the fly to a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 without substitutions if
the players are drilled properly.